Joyland discussion

Starting the discussion. I like Stephen King:)

i was expecting something different but i enjoyed it, finished it 2 days

Terrific book, despite what some haters will tell you. 5 stars, easy.

Joel wrote: "i was expecting something different but i enjoyed it, finished it 2 days"

Joel! My sister and I are reading this together. We are just beginning and just decided to make comments as we go along. Join in whenever you want:)

It was exactly what I expected out of King - don't go into it expecting anything. Just go along for the fun of the ride and let King get you to the end. He never disappoints. This has a great ending where everything is tied up.

Tom wrote: "It was exactly what I expected out of King - don't go into it expecting anything. Just go along for the fun of the ride and let King get you to the end. He never disappoints. This has a great endin..."

Well said! I always make that mistake of expecting something. When I just let go of expectations I can do just that- sit back and enjoy the ride!

i enjoyed it very much. not a typical hard case crime novel, but a great coming of age story. just great storytelling. 4.5 - 5 stars

This was a pretty bad book. Is this one he wrote while on the toilet or soemthing? I wasn't expecting much after reading The Colorado Kid but this was just boring.

A great, fast summer read. Good coming-of-age story, nice serial killer twist towards the end, gave it a 5.

You guys wanna read a really sad review, where the member seems to have a serious hate-on for King, read Sam Quixote's on page 2 of the Joyland review page. He admits to not even finishing the book, yet rakes SK over the coals in a review that's only slightly shorter than the book itself. Then, when I commented on his getting the title wrong (he called it JOYRIDE *L*), and the fact he wasn't speaking in complete sentences (all of which he may have fixed by this point), he deleted my comment and blocked me from even viewing the review. *L* And considering all of the comments left are ones that agree with him (about 8), he must've deleted the others that disagreed, as well. Really? Pathetic...

It was what I expected, because I heard it was a coming of age story, and I know just how King does coming of age from The Body, but the cover does a great disservice to the book in misleading the reader.

I enjoyed it. Good read, got right into it.

good storyteller. enough said. proof is in this book.

I thought this was a lovely story. It didn't have the "horror" that we seem to expect from King, but I enjoyed this book. I found it to be a quick read, especially as King is known for looooonnnnggg books. I rated it 4 stars...

This book didn't have the *gore* of a "typical" SK novel but it did have the horror. King has taken a turn towards psychological horror, especially seen in the interplay between people with abilities, and this book is very much in the same vein as Bag of Bones and his later books. It was excellent.

It wasn't the usual Stephen King story and I liked it for that exact reason. The characters were well developed and made sense to me. I could see and hear the carnival. There was a simple plot with a little supernatural subplot, which I thought was clever. Some of Kings more recent works have been long, drawn out and over complicated. This simpler style of storytelling worked a lot better in my humble opinion. I really hope to see of this from him in the future.

It was a stephen king and not a stephen king. It didn't have ghoulish horrors but it had the charm in which you read pages of nothing but you love ever word. Not a good plot but a good read.

I had a hard time getting into this book.. I almost didn't finish it. But, I am glad that I did. The ending made it all worth it.

It amazes me that there are so many readers out here who have apparently pigeonholed Stephen King. Even his two jail stories, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, are extremely different. The only thing I expect when reading King is that I will be embarking on a storytelling journey that will take me through more twists and turns than I would usually find on an amusement park ride.

I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?

Joel wrote: "i was expecting something different but i enjoyed it, finished it 2 days"

I also finished it in....well, about 24 hours, actually! It was well described by someone else as a coming of age story; I enjoyed the characters, and never saw the big reveal of the killer at the end coming....

@Sheri: I can't tag your post, but I think I can explain what "It's not white" means. I think Mike is referring to Lane's hair, which is showing strands of white through the black dye he uses to disguise himself....

@ Sharon, thanks. I considered that but then wasn't sure since his hair appeared to be black. I would have thought "It's not black" would make more sense.

I had the same "it's not white" question too. I guess the explanation about Lane's hair is plausible, it just seems a bit too subtle.

I also want to know a bit more about Tom and Erin - I know Tom died, but did they break up or ...? Seemed like Erin married someone else (first and second time?) I may have missed something.

I think Stephen King never explained "It's not white" on purpose just to drive us crazy..naughty devil that he is! lol.

Christa wrote: "I had the same "it's not white" question too. I guess the explanation about Lane's hair is plausible, it just seems a bit too subtle.

I also want to know a bit more about Tom and Erin - I know To..."

There wasn't a break up. Erin and Tom were devoted to one another. Erin married a second time after Tom passed away.

Thanks Donna, for some reasons I thought Erin's first husband wasn't someone nice (prob read it wrong when I was reading it half asleep....)

Christa wrote: "Thanks Donna, for some reasons I thought Erin's first husband wasn't someone nice (prob read it wrong when I was reading it half asleep....)"

If you're interested in reading it again for yourself, the passage telling us that Tom and Erin were happily married for eighteen years is on page 85.

Thanks Donna! I just re-read that page... I think when I first read it, I didn't get that Erin/Tom were married (I don't think at that point we knew they were dating yet at Joyland?! Or I was just dense :)) I just thought Dev may have met her first husband in some other occasion. So thanks for clearing that up for me!

Got it Wednesday but just finished last night (Saturday). Only 288 pages - reminds me of the sort of stories in Different Seasons, or of his novel The Green Mile. Very enjoyable. Frank Darabont will very likely make this a film...

Here's the word on the film straight from SK's website:

Joyland Headed to Theaters
May 6th, 2013 2:31:00 pm
The film rights to Stephen’s forthcoming paperback release, Joyland, have been optioned by Tate Taylor.

Best known for his acclaimed work adapting and directing The Help, Taylor will also write, produce and direct Joyland. John Norris and Wyolah Films are also set to produce.

I love Stephen King and Joyland was a great read. I really enjoyed how the characters lives developed and you could "grow" right along with them. A fun and good book for the summer.

Sheri wrote: "I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?"

The scarf was blue, not white.

Brian wrote: "Sheri wrote: "I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?"

The scarf was b..."

It's a reference to the hair dye as people stated above. When Lane took off his derby hat and pushed his hair back Devin noticed streaks of white in it that hadn't appeared at the beginning of the summer. The warning is, "it's not white" it's blonde. If had known that Lane was actually a blonde he would have suspected him much earlier. :D

How about thar? I was on the right track!

I had to force myself to finish this. The characters were boring, the setting was dull and the story was non-existent. Stephen King is so talented. This read like it was written by a middleschooler.

"All I can say is what you already know: some days are treasure. Not many, but I think in almost every life there are a few. That was one of mine, and when I'm blue--when life comes down on me and everything looks tawdry and cheap, the way Joyland Avenue did on a rainy day--I go back to it, if only to remind myself that life isn't always a butcher's game. Sometimes the prizes are real. Sometimes they're precious."

Highlight of the book.

I've just finished the book. It amazes me how SK seems to know the combination on the keypad to disarm me completely. I've found myself moved during so many parts of the book, and not the "moving" parts, precisely. I guess it's just the way he has to tell stories.. and in this one I felt 21 with Dev, 45 and 85 with his father, I felt Erin's kiss and I fell in love with Annie all over.

Coming back from Joyland is such a hard, cold and grey path..

My husband just finished the book and had the same question about "It's not white", and he thought the relationship between Erin and Tom wasn't really clear. Overall, though, he enjoyed it as much as I did!

I have been a Constant Reader for many years. I was really looking forward to this, and was dissapointed. I expected more thrills, and scares..I found it quite flat. A good little story anyway. You definitely can't judge this book by it's cover.

Sheri wrote: "I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?"

Me too.. I was think it was Lane's hair because he wore hair dye... ??? Could be??

Orsayor wrote: "Sheri wrote: "I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?"

Me too.. I was ..."

I agree, Lanes hair.

As a fan of Stephen King, Joyland surpassed all my expectations. I loved the strong bonds formed by the main characters, the intricate story line, and didn't know where it was going. King skillfully pulled all the pieces together at the end. It deserves five stars!

Maximus wrote: "Orsayor wrote: "Sheri wrote: "I read the entire book and never figured out what "It's not white" meant. Does anyone know? It's driving me nuts. Why wouldn't Stephen King explain it in the end?"
..."

I thought it was after Dev gave him mouth to mouth and pulled off his gloves the cream on his hands was white... Thus "it's not white"?

I love the way Stephen King can take you to a time and place you haven't been, such as a summer working at an "old style" amusement park. He kept me reading with the Fun House mystery unraveling page after page. I thought it had a great ending. But overall, a very different Stephen King.

I agree that "It's not white" is referring to Lane's hair.

This book felt very different from many of King's more current works. I think that's why I liked it so much. It was definitely not what I expected.

I actually loved this book, it was different then your normal Steven King books.

I don't know - I am a little over 1/2 way through this book and I thought it would be scarier by now. Also, I have an issue with the setting and the dialogue - it seems more like the 1950's or early '60's rather than the '70's. I was a teenager in 1973 and was very aware of pop culture and nobody I knew talked like any of the characters (I don't mean the carny lingo)or had the collection of cardigan sweaters and full skirts he talked about Erin or Wendy wearing. Only old ladies wore cardigans back then.
Other than that, it is a pleasant summer read, it's just more wholesome good fun than I expected. Stephen King usually lulls you into complacency, then wallops you with evilness as you read on, so maybe it will get more scary, or at least creepy, towards the end.

- I was at the beach recently with my family and saw a light blue "Cinderella band" laying all by itself on an empty seat at a food concession and nobody knew why it freaked me out (!)